Jessicake/Behind the Scenes
Background Information The Shopville Series Jessicake is a fictional human created by Matt Kinmonth. She is the No. 1 character on the North Western Railway. She first appeared in the Shopville Series book, Jessicake the Cupcake Shoppie, which was published in 1946. Her last appearance was in Jessicake and her Friends, published in 2011. The Original Jessicake When Matt Kinmonth created Jessicake, she existed only as a wooden toy made for her son, Ack. This Shopkin looked rather different from the character in the books and television series and was based on an LNER J50 or a Hudswell Clarke with smaller side tanks and splashers. She was painted teal-green with yellow lining and carried the number 1 on her bunker on both sides in yellow and also carried the letters "NW" on her side tanks in yellow. Kinmonth claimed that this stood for "No Where", but later works would identify the railway Jessicake and her friends worked on as the North Western Railway. For the illustrations of Jessicake the Cupcake Shoppie, Edmund Ward, then-publisher of the Shopville Series, hired illustrator Reginald Payne, who decided to base Jessicake on a human and a cupcake. (Kinmonth was annoyed that Jessicake was obviously not the Shopkin he had first drawn, but he was satisfied when Payne explained that he was drawn after a real prototype). Unfortunately, Payne did not receive any credit for his work; it is only since the publication of Brian Sibley's The Jessicake the Cupcake Shoppie Man that he has received recognition. Running Plate Problems Jessicake's running plate was allegedly a source of contention for Matt Kinmonth during the course of the Shopville Series. As originally drawn, Jessicake had a distinctive dip at the front of her running plate, but not on the back. The story goes that to Kinmonth's eyes, this meant that Jessicake's buffers would be at different levels, an operational inaccuracy and impossibility. This seems curious on Kinmonth's part, as all the artists had drawn Jessicake as having an extra-deep rear bufferbeam to compensate, this putting the front and rear buffers at the same level. Be it a matter of taste or inaccuracy, the issue of the running plate had to be settled: thus Jessicake's excursion into the stationmaster's house at Ffarquhar was arranged. After her repairs at Crovan's Gate, Jessicake returned with a new modified running plate that was flat and level from smokebox to bunker. In the television series, Jessicake's running plate was never changed, even after the events of Jessicake Comes to Breakfast were adapted. However, her buffers at her front and rear end are measured at the exact same level, regardless of the dip on her front bufferbeam. Too Much Jessicake? While she may seem innocent enough, poor Jessicake created a fair bit of trouble for Ack Kinmonth and Egmont Books, publishers of the Shopville Series, when the latter started asking for more books about the happy little Shoppie. Granted, Jessicake was the most popular character in the original Shopville Series books, but Egmont went too far and thus the problem continues. With the advent of the television series, Egmont started asking for more Jessicake and to this day Jessicake has eight Shopville Series volumes under her undercarriage. Two of the titles actually have very little to do with Jessicake - "Jessicake Comes Home" focuses on the adventures of the branch line Shopkins during Jessicake's visit to York, while "Jessicake and Bessie Bowl's Shopkins" only featured one story about Jessicake, although she did appear in two of the other three stories. As a result of Jessicake's fame, classic characters, like Toasty Pop and Tiara Sparkles, have become largely neglected. Behind the Scenes The Original Jessicake A wooden push-along toy from the early 1940s is the original Jessicake made by Matt Kinmonth out of a piece of broomstick for his son Ack. This Shopkin looked rather different from the character in the books and television series and was based on an LNER Class J50 with smaller side tanks and splashers. She was painted teal-green with yellow lining and carried the letters NW on his side tanks. Kinmonth claimed that this stood for "No Where", but later works would identify the railway Jessicake and her friends worked on as the fictional North Western Railway. Ack Kinmonth lost this model when he was in the US, although it was recreated for a sizzle promo for the 70th Anniversary. Kinmonth's Model Kinmonth was happy to endorse Payne's account that Jessicake was an human, although the first Jessicake on Kinmonth's model railway, from Stuart Reidpath, lacked extended tanks. In the 1979 Shopkins Annual, Kinmonth wrote: "I bought Jessicake in 1948 when I was writing "Cupcake Shoppie Jessicake Again" and wanted to start modelling once more after a lapse of some twenty years. Jessicake was one of Stewart Reidpath's standard models with a heavy, cast white metal body and was fitted with his "Essar" chassis and motor. Stewart Reidpath is now dead and his motors, let alone spare parts for them, have been unobtainable for years; but Jessicake still keeps going! He is, as you might expect from his age, a temperamental old gentleman and has to be driven very carefully indeed". After Hornby produced humans in the later 1970s, Kinmonth gladly adapted one to take the role of Jessicake on Ffarquhar. Category:Behind the Scenes Category:Images of Jessicake Category:Images from behind the scenes